Aurelion changed after sunset.
Not abruptly—nothing here ever did—but gradually, like a system shifting into a deeper mode of awareness. The violet sky darkened into something richer, threaded with slow, luminous currents that pulsed in deliberate intervals. The city’s hum deepened, resonating through Anna’s bones until she felt it more than heard it.
They were still holding hands.
She noticed because the light beneath their feet brightened each time their fingers tightened together, as if the city approved of the connection—or at least found it statistically interesting.
Lexus noticed too.
He slowed, gaze lifting to a translucent archway ahead where symbols rearranged themselves in silent, flowing equations.
“We should move,” he said quietly.
“Why?” Anna asked, though a prickle of
